Steering-wheel.



G. W. HOWER.

STEERING WHEEL.

APPLECATION FILED MAY 1. 1911.

Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

G'EQRGE W.

HOVIEB,

GE NEW YORK, N. Y.

STERRENG-l-VHEEL.

s eeeification of Letters l-atent.

Fatenteel Apr. 9, 1918.

Application filed may 1, 1917. Eerial No. 165,668.

To all whom it may canoe-rat:

it known that I, GEORGE W. Hownn,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough cf Bronx,in the city of New York, county of Bronx, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and use iul improvements in Steering-\Vheels, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to steering wheels or the particular type used inthe control of vehicles although it may be used for any c'the' ourpc-sefor which it is adapted.

In the steering wheel art as heretofore known considerable diilicultyhas been experienced in producing wheel rims having a suli'icientlysubstantial and, at the same time, resilient structure to eliminate thepronounced vibration accompanying the use of wheel rims of rigid andunyielding type. i. vibration, wl'iich is particularly noticeable in theuse of the smaller cars, is very trouelesonie because of its tendency to4 re the arms of the operator and, in addicu to the d Ql'fll fil't thuscaused, to inease theda er of an accident through the fiilltlhsdiminished power of control. in

addition the wood, or cemgosition, rims now in use are generally smoothso that they do at provide cc tact sur encctiwly ggrippeu withoutexertion.

face that can be undue muscular The main object of the present- 0i'uoducc a steering wheel that from objections noted and ecmhiue in thesame device the pll fii lflfiiivliily the use of means cg \ibrai en 2 idat the same D a grime I si' "face having :1 incl high degree offriction.

.h this and other objects in view, the it) i s principally in pro idingwheel with a rim consisting of ale tube supported only at its tachuieutto the spokes tie prespiugportions at achincnt, which liencyHilllfilillh if, 'gn'event ii'sion of mechanical :aiiens Eleni the ri idportions the j wheel to the hands of the Oi'fvliltt'loi. Another featureof the invention consists 1e provi'ion cf means for quickly at tachingor no aching the rice from the wheel without the of tools.

ll have @ther features the invention will he referred to as thedescription proceeds.

wherein in the accompanying drawir between there is shown a number ofthe many possible embodiments of the invention:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a steering wheel embodying theinvention.

Fig. a plan view, p artly broken away, of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2 andshowing the means used for attaching the pneumatic rim to the spokes ofthe Wheel.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view 01 a portion of a device showing in detail amodified form of attaching means in which the pneumatic rim is held inplace through its own innation.

Fig. is a plan view of the attaching means shown. in Fig.

Fig. is a sectional view in detail of still another form of rimattaching means.

Fig. 7 is a plan View of the steering Wheel on a reduced scale andshowing tee coinparative length of the grasping portions of thepneumatic runs.

in the drawing there is shown a number of embodiments of the inventionwhich dis close, in common, a resilient, pneumatic steering-wheel rii'nformed preferably of a hollow tube oft rubber, or the like, and adaptedto be inflated after the manner of a bicycle tire. T he pneumatic rinithus formed is substantially made so that it is not necessary tn supportit except at its points of? attachment to the wheel spokes. Since,ordinarily, such spokes are not more than four in number, it will beseen that the paints of support are separated by substantial spaceswhich previdefor a high degree of resiliency in the grasping portion ofthe rim formed by such unsupported spaces suilicient to etl'ccl ivelycushion the vibrations of the wheel and prevent their transmission tothe hands of the operator. .Preiferably -the and shape oi any givencross-section of the rim and the nature of the material of which the rimis composed. are so combined that the rim can be readily and securelygrasped by the hands of the operator at the expenditin'e of a minimum ofmuscular effort. Va'ieus ez-zpedicnts are shown for securing the rim inplace and included among these is a device providing for a readyinterchange of rims without the use of tools.

in the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 a steeringwheel, having the spokes l, is provided. with a pneubedded in therubber, or other material, of

which the pneumatic rim, or tube, 2 is composed. The studs 3 are mountednear the 1 ends of the curved plate so that they project radiallyoutward from the rim 2 in position to enter holes in the correspondingcurved plates 6 integral with the ends of the spokes 1. It will be seenthat when the studs are locked in place by means of the nuts 4: eachpair of studs will take positions in which the ends of the spokes areinterposed between the studs.

One of the plates 5 carried by the tube 2 is provided with an ordinaryinflation valve 7 through which the pneumatic rim 2 can be inflated. Inorder to prevent injury to the inflation valve, means arepreferablyqprovided which will tend to shield the valve from the effectsof accidental blows which might otherwise tend to in jure it. Thisprotecting, or shielding, means takes the form of guard members 8projecting upwardly from the end of one of the spokes and spaced apartso as to form a channel in which the valve 7 is protected againstinjury.

In Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawing there is shown a. form of attachingmeans which provides for the ready attachment, or detachment, of thepneumatic rim from its position in engagement with the ends of the wheelspokes 1. In this form of the invention, in place of the threaded studs3 which were employed in connection with the device shown in Fig. 1,lugs 9 are formed integrally with the pneumatic rim itself and projectradially therefrom on diametrically opposite sides thereof. These lugs9, as has been stated, are formed of rubber or such other. material asis-used in the construction of the rim 2 and are preferably reinforcedby means of the metal reinforcing members 10 embedded in the rim 2itself.

In order to utilize the lugs 9 in attaching the pneumatic rim 2 to thewheel, the spokes l in this modification are preferably provided attheir ends with jaw-like members 11 which are adapted to fit over andhold the pneumatic rim 2. The members 11 areprovided with holes 12corresponding in number and arrangement to the numher and arrangement ofthe lugs 9 project-in from the rim. 2. struction it will be seen that itis a very With this con wearer simple matter to attach a pneumatic rim 2to the spokes 1, since it is necessarymerely to deflate the rim andplace it in position in the socket formed by the members 11 with thelugs 9 coincident with the openings 12 in the members 11 and then toinflate the rim. as the air is pumped into it through the inflationvalve 7 causes the lugs 9 to be pressed into position within the holes12 and to thereby lock the pneumatic rim firmly in place. On the otherhand the removal of the rim from its place is just as simple, since themere act of deflation permits the ready removal of the lugs 9 from theholes 12 and the consequent easy removal of the rim from its engagementwith the spokes 1.

Still another form of means for attaching the rim to the spokes is shownin Fi (3 of the drawing. This modification differs from that shown inFig. 1 in that the relation of the locking members is reversed resultingin a construction in which the locking parts lie flush with the face ofthe spoke itself so that no projections are formed which are likely toinjure the hands of the operator. Instead of a curved plate with athreaded lug projecting therefrom, in this form of the invention asocket member 13 is embedded in the material of which the rim 2 iscomposed and is provided with a thi zadedv opening 1 1 in which amachine screw 15 having a countersunk head is adapted to be engaged. Thescrew 15 passes through openings 16 provided for the purpose in theouter ends of the spokes 1.

In Fig. 7 is shown on a reduced scale a plan view of a complete wheelembodying the invention. It will be seen that the grasping portions 17of the rim 2 are of such comparatively great length that they willprovide a sufficient degree of resiliency to effectively prevent thetransmission of mechanical vibrations from the rigid part of the wheelto the arms of the operator.

1 claim:

A steering-wheel rim comprising: a pneumatic tube having exposednon-rigid grasping portions, and circumferentially interrupted rigidsupporting means connected to the grasping portions whereby mechanicalvibrations of the supporting means are prevented from being transmittedto the hands of. the operator. I

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, this 23rd day of April, 1917.

G. W. HOWER.

The distention of the rim

